


Not a Normal Day

by FantasyRulez



Series: Impractical Jokers [1]
Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: Angst, Depression, Fantasy, Friendship, Magic, Mood Swings, Multi, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 02:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8383870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasyRulez/pseuds/FantasyRulez
Summary: It was just a normal day when a strange topic on the news was brought up by the Impractical Jokers. Then Sal meets a strange girl while filming for a challenge. Can these two events be linked, and can the four friends overcome the many hardships they will have to face?





	1. The News

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first fan fiction so I hope you enjoy it!

We were at Q's house one normal summer day. It was the end of summer. We would miss the hot weather since it's freezing during the winter in New York. I was currently in the kitchen, but the others were in the living room.

I thought I heard Murr say, "Hmm." 

I probably just imagined it, but then I heard Joe say, "Huh," so I entered the room with the others.

They were wathching something on TV. I think it was the news. When the guys saw me enter, Murr says to me, "Hey Sal, what do you think of this?" 

I look what's on the news, but don't really understand it either. 

Q, who wasn't really paying attention, but now is, says, "Wow. Is this real? If so, that would be cool."

On the screen was a superhero; a real live one; on the news. 

"How?" is all I can say.

"There's no way this can be real," Murr says, "It might just be a story for publicity."

"I don't know," Joe says, "wasn't there a story like this on the news a while ago. I mean, if so, I can't remember it."

"Yeah, let's pretend it's real," Q says, "You guys know I like comics and superheros."

"That superhero looks our age," I try to counter.

"And it's a girl. Would we know her?" Murr wonders.

"The thing says she lives in Chicago," Joe says.

Then there's kind of a moment of silence when all of us try to figure out what to say next. We're all unsure. I don't know why we're all thinking so hard about this. It's probably because the topic of our conversation is big. I found myself lost in thought too. 

Little did we know this randomly brought up conversation would change our lives.


	2. The Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry about that short last chapter, but this one's longer. Hope you enjoy!

"Alright guys, gather up this air. Breathe it in before it's gone. And do you know what this air is?"

"Warm."

"Not freezing."

"Should I be concerned with your obssession of air?"

I laugh and say to Joe, "No. Sometimes you just have to... enjoy things before they're gone."

"Well said," says Murr.

"Why are you getting all deep, Sal?" Q asks. 

"I don't know," I answer truthfully, "I just feel like... something big is going to happen."

"Do you know what that is?" Joe asks, "Your turn."

Today we are filming in Central Park in New York City. We have to do and say what we are told. I said I'm going to try and not get a thumbs down today, but I say that every time we do a challenge and half of the time I fail. We are starting the challenge now and I'm the first one to go.

I get my mic and earpiece set up and am ready to go. I have no idea what I'm going to have to do or who I'll have to talk to. Little did we know the person would affect us in a big way.

I walk out into where all the benches and people were. There was a nice fountain; I hoped I wouldn't have to jump into it or something. That would probably get me in trouble with the law... again.

I looked around for people the guys could possibly make me confront. There were a few people on the benches and a few on the ledge of the fountain. There were people walking past, jogging, or walking their dog. 

I saw a lady that looked about my age get up from the fountain. I felt my ears go red as I looked at her. As she got up from the fountain ledge, her first few steps looked shaky. As she put a phone she had to her ear away, I wondered if she had gotten bad news on it. I was afraid to talk to her if something bad had happened.

The guys must not have noticed the woman's shakiness, because Joe said to me, "Okay Sal, go flirt with that lady," as Q and Murr laughed. 

I bet all four of us get kind of bothered when the person doing the challenge realizes something may be up the person we're pranking, but the others don't notice. It's not their faults they don't notice now. The woman looked like she was trying to hide her unbalanced walking. I can't tell the others that something might be wrong, because they'll think I'm chickening out. They know I'm bad at flirting.

Even with my doubts, I hesitantly walk up to the woman. I don't think she'll snap at me.

"Hey," I say, trying to flirt. I keep nodding my head. I think that's flirty.

The lady kind of stands there for a second, just staring at me, and then gives a tiny smile. Okay, so maybe she was pretty.

"Hey," I say again, still trying to flirt. The guys' laughter was blasting my earpiece.

Now she kind of just stood there. She started to look around and went to sit down on a bench nearby. I could hear she was breathing heavily. What if she had a disease or something? The guys obviusly didn't hear it.

I was thinking of straight up giving up on the challenge, but reluctantly sat on the bench. I could finally hear a sentence through the earpiece.

"Say you're name or something!" Murr said through laughter.

Name...

"Hi, I'm Sal," I say, kind of losing the flirty tone. I think she almost jumped at my voice.

"Hi," she said, really quietly. I was probably the only one that heard her.

The guys on the other end of the earpiece couldn't stop laughing. The situation was extremely awkward. I bet if I was was on that other end wacthing one of these guys trying to do this, I would be on the ground cracking up too.

But I'm not.

I couldn't help but ask it. The guys probably weren't even listening anymore.

"Are you okay?" 

"Yeah," the lady says quietly. 

Her heavy breathing continued. I had no what was going on in her head, what she might have experienced. 

She tried to stand up. That's when things started to go horribly wrong. I had completely forgot about the challenge by now.

After she stood up, I thought she would collapse. I was about to get ready to catch her. I was close enough to her to see her tired, almost red eyes. Was it from crying? I realized something was terribly wrong. I didn't have time to use the mic to tell the guys. 

She suddenly let out a small sigh. Her eyelids closed and she fell. I caught her before she hit the ground. Now people were starting to look towards us, because who wouldn't look at an unconscious person. I was speechless and had no idea what to do next.

The guys were trying to collect themselves from the hilarious encounter. They had no idea what was currently going on. They had fallen onto the grass from laughter and didn't look at the screen. 

Q was the first one to calm down. He first only shot a glance at the screen, but then did a double take. He saw all the people gathered right where the hidden cameras were placed. He started to take of his earpiece, still looking at the screen. As he started to take off across the grass, he didn't even bother telling Joe and Murr what was happening. They just saw him run and started to follow, yelling his name to see if he'd tell them what was going on.

The three, out of breath from running, got to the crowd of people. 

"Q, what's going on?" Murr asked, concerned.

"Why did we have to run?" panted Joe.

"I have no idea," Q said, breathless.

They tried pushing to the front of the crowd.

The second they got there, Q said, "What the frick, Sal?"

I was still there with the unconscious lady, trying to answer all the peoples' questions. It didn't help that I don't know this person.

The three walk past the people, saying that they know the person holding the unconscious person.

I look at Joe, Q, and Murr, with a helpless look on my face that says I'm holding an unconscious person. what do I do?

"Sal, what happened?" Murr asks.

"I don't know!" I say frustrated, "I was just talking to her and she passed out!"

"Did you know she was going to?" Joe asked.

"I thought she would when I was talking to her," I say.

"You could have told us," Joe says.

"Well I didn't, okay," I say, starting to get teary; I had no idea why. "I was afraid to."

I noticed how Q didn't say anything. He kind of just watched quietly.

"Don't worry. We'll get her to the on-set nurse," Murr said softly, noticing how I started to sound teary.

So we all helped carry the lady to where the crew was set up. They asked what had happened and I tried to explain as best as I could. There wasn't much I could say.

The nurse was always there in case one of us passed out or something on set (we always thought Q would.) She inspected the lady and tried to figure out why she could have passed out. The nurse told us that nothing violent had caused it and no alchohol or drugs had been involved. It was either a heatstroke or something that had happened recently that had been bad enough to cause unconsciousness. We personally hoped it was just heatstroke.

Joe, Murr, Q, and I sat in silence while the producers and crew took care of the lady. They said we looked queasy and should sit down. We were all trapped in our own thoughts, like the day we were at Q's house. We were wondering what could have caused the lady's heat stroke or even worse, what terrible event could have caused her unconsciousness.

I was personally nervous for Q at the moment. He hadn't spoken since he saw the unconscious person for the first time. 

I had to speak to tell the producers and crew what had happened and Joe and Murr talked a little, but Q was completely silent. He right now was biting down on his fist, like he was trying to prevent tears, but wasn't. 

The silence between all of us was unnatural. It was probably because this is such a serious matter. It seemed a lot like the day at Q's house...

Suddenly, Q spoke our thoughts out loud.

"What if this has to do with the superhero?" he blurted.

"How could it?" I snapped quickly.

I immediately felt bad. Why were all of our tensions so high? There's obviously some-thing bad going on.

All of us were breathing heavily.

"We just all need to calm down," Joe says, in a calm, but shaky voice.

We all went back into silence. After a while, Q announced another thought we were having; a bad thought.

"What if she died?"

Silence. Nobody wanted to respond.

"...She's not dead. She can't be," Murr says in a slightly hoarse voice, looking at each of us.

I can't take it. I can't help the tears starting to flow down my face.

It was obvious in my voice when I said, "Guys, this is what I meant when I said something big was going to happen. What if this leads to something worse? Something terrible?"

This is already terrible enough as it is.

I start to sob. Loud sobs in the midst of the silence. 

Joe, Murr, and Q walk over to me and we hug. The tension stops between us. All we feel is sadness, and we're all trying to get through it.

After a while, a crew member came and told us the situation was fixed. That's all he said. He also said the producers are giving us the rest of the day off. Even if they didn't, the crew member would probably have told them to give it to us after seeing our expressions and tear-stained faces.

I say to the guys once the crew member left, "I'm sorry you had to see me cry. I know it's embarrassing."

The others only had tears rolling down their faces. I was the only one who sobbed.

"It's alright, Sal," Joe says, with a teary smile.

"I just want you guys to know, whatever happens between us, I just want us to stick together and stay friends," I say.

Joe, Q, and Murr nod. I bet we all want that.


	3. The Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I hope you enjoy. This chapter's shorter for all of you who are still crying over the last one (I know I am).

I put on my clothes. I'm not wearing a suit, but I'm still dressed formally. We were going to see the lady at the hospital today.

It had been two days since she passed out during our conversation. A producer called and had said that she was put in the hospital and wasn't dead. I hoped he was telling the truth. We all did.

I get a call on my cell phone. It's Joe.

"Hey, Sal! Ready for the hospital?"

Joe's voice sounded as normal and outgoing as usual. I couldn't believe how different it sounded from two days ago when it was all shaky and teary. All of us were feeling better. The day after the incident we filmed for Impractical Jokers, in a different location obviously, and were as happy and laughter-filled as usual. Like nothing happened.

Of course the incident would be hard to talk about. We all still couldn't believe how much tension it had caused. It would be impossible to avoid the topic now.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I say, responding to Joe's question, "Isn't Q picking us up?"

Yeah," he says, "I think he's picking you up first."

At that moment I hear a honk from outside. It's probably Q's red Jeep.

"I think he's here now," I say to Joe, "See you later."

"Bye."

I leave my house and see Q waiting in his car for me. I sit in the seat next to him. 

I could already feel the tension building. The more silence that forms, the more stressful we get.

I look at Q's expressionless face. I try to figure out what he's thinking.

"Are you okay?" I ask him lightly.

He shoots me a slight glance.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Th-the girl's fine and n-not dead and the four of us are g-good." 

I knew Q. I knew he wasn't fine. Even if he wasn't stuttering a lot.

The ride to Murr's house was silent. When we got there, Murr came out and went into the back seat of the car. We just said our greetings and that was it for his entrance. I answered Murr's "how are you" sort of quietly and Q still stuttered. I was still nervous about him.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally got to Joe's. We said our greetings with him and then went back into silence. We didn't even know why theis silence was here. There was just nothing to say. Almost every time we talk, somebody's cracking a joke or saying something funny and laughter fills the place. Now isn't a good time for that.

"ENOUGH!" Joe suddenly yelled. 

We all turned to face him, surprised at the outburst. Joe never yelled angrily like that.

"I can't take it! This silence between us... why is it here?"

Nobody says anything.

"We all know this isn't just about the girl. What's happening to us?" 

He starts to break into sobs.

Murr sitting next to him, starts to rub his shoulder and comfort him.

I felt sick. It was a bad idea to go to the hospital. I just felt like I had to go... I felt like it might have been my fault the lady passed out. I don't get how it could have been.

I look at Q. He still looked emotionless. Just blank eyes staring forward, focused on the road. I thought I saw him twitch a little, but I hoped it was just my imagination.

I also just looked forward. I never heard Joe cry like this. He was never really in touch with his sensitive side.

During the rest of the ride, the only sound penetrating the silence was Joe trying to stop sobbing and Murr trying to comfort him.


	4. The Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter's going to be a bit longer for those of you who don't like the short chapters. There's only two chapter's left! The second book is in preparation already. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! (Also hope you enjoy the Miraculous Ladybug references!)

I bet we were the only visitors seeing the lady. That gave us another reason to be absolutely uncomfortable. Before entering the hospital, all four of us tried to not look like we were broken, which I felt. I had to try and not look tired, Q had to get over his stuttering and twitches, Joe had to look like he was not just crying, and Murr had to probably do what I did. I mean, we could go in looking like we already were, since hospitals are filled with emotionally broken people anyway.

We went into the place and asked the person at the front desk for... and a problem. That's literally how it went down. Murr was in the best condition at the moment and asked the person as cheerfully as he could, "What room is... err." 

We didn't know the lady's name. Classic us.

"Could we see the lady that passed out two days ago?" I ask, trying to help Murr. 

The person gave us a room number and we went to it.

I actually considered not going into the room for a second. I didn't know what I was expecting to see on the other side of the door, but I guess something bad. I wondered if the others had the same worry.

I bravely took on my fear and opened the door. There was a bed in the room and a few chairs. We looked at the lady on the bed. I can't believe we don't even know her name.

She looked fine. Q, Murr, and Joe noticed how pretty she was. It looked like she was just sleeping. 

Sleeping... uh-oh.

We all had one thought. One of us was to go up to the lady and listen if there was a heartbeat. It felt just like a challenge from IJ. We already knew what to do. Joe counted down from three. Whoever said "not it" last had to do it.

"Not it!" we all said quickly.

We all knew who had said it last, though.

"Sorry, Sal," Murr says will real sympathy. 

They back away from the lady while I have to stand right next to the bed.

We're all silent, this time because of anticipation. I try listening to the heartbeat and tell mine to shut up. I finally hear one that isn't mine.

"Guys, she's alive," I say.

They let out sighs of relief.

Then we hear something that makes us jump back.

"No..."

It's loud but quick, said in almost a pleading way.

We all almost jump. It came from the lady. I literally ran from the bed and hid behind Q.

"No... please... don't..."

The four of our breaths caught in our throats. She must somehow be having a nightmare or flashback. What could have happened?

I knew we should have left. Ran at the sound of the voice. But we didn't. Our feet were glued to the ground.

We all were straight up terrified.

"Don't kill them..."

I almost jumped or at least gasped. I wasn't even looking at the guys anymore. I felt Q digging his fingers into my arm. I didn't know if it was standing support or just needing something to dig his fingers into.

"Please..."

I couldn't believe it. We now knew why she had passed out: she watched someone get murdered. But she said "them." Did she watch more than one person get killed?

This felt just like a horror movie. I felt like the scary music was playing. I was afraid someome with a knife would jump into the room and say something like, "Time to finish the job," or something.

Suddenly, the lady jolted upward, awake.

Instead of almost jumping this time we actually jumped and let out small yells. We stood, frozen, hoping she wouldn't see us. She looked forward and took deep breaths, then looked at us. 

She ran her hand through her long, brown hair and said, "I bet you saw that, didn't you?"

I wanted to ask what had happened. I just knew that it wasn't the right time.

She stretched her arms, like she just taken a nap, and got out of the bed. She was fully dressed.

I ask, "Don't they make you wear one of those...?"

"Yeah, I know," she says casually, "I just didn't really want to wear it."

We didn't know that the doctors had no idea she changed. There were no clothes in sight. Had they magically appeared?

She just looked at us for a minute. She didn't look how she did two days before. Then her eyes looked red and tired and now they looked less. I bet we even looked worse than her, and we didn't watch people die.

"I'm sorry we watched you have that nightmare..." I said, trying to be quiet.

I was mad at the guys for not saying anything. Were they afraid?

"That's alright. I know you guys. I'm a big fan of your show."

Wow. I couldn't believe that either. And she would have been featured on the show if she hadn't... you know.

I had to do it. Had to ask it.

"What happened?" I blurted.

The three looked at me. The lady knew what I was talking about.

"Uh... it's kind of a long story. I don't know if I should tell you guys. You don't look well."

Was it that obvious?

"Can you keep a secret?" she asks us.

We don't respond. We kind of just nod.

"Okay... if you can handle it. I feel like I can trust you."

Again, we don't say anything.

"So... do you know how there's that superhero on the news?"

Yeah, the one we talked about two days ago. Its name was Wolfgirl. Girl... And she had brown hair. But the lady has... Wait...

She pumps her right fist into the air. A bracelet suddenly appears on her wrist. Did that come from her skin?!?

But that was only start of the shock.

"Howl on!"

Then the cutscene.

A mask appeared on her face, then the ears, then the outfit, then the tail.

There was a superhero standing in front of us.

How? How could this be happening? It couldn't be real. I stumble backwards and grab onto the wall. I almost passed out. I felt sick.

Joe speaks up and says, "...But you live in Chicago?"

"Yeah, it's called teleportation," she answers, not sounding like the lady I talked to two days ago.

She walks up to us and extends a hand.

"The name's Abigail, A.K.A, Wolfgirl."

I'm pretty sure we were all afraid to shake her hand. We didn't know what to say.

After a moment she says, "Well anyway, about what happened." 

She walks back to the other end of the room, getting the fact that we were afraid of her.

I could only imagine how Q could be feeling right now. A real, live superhero is right in front of him. It looked like he too was going to pass out.

Abigail starts to explain, "So I was with my friends/team on a mission. They're not really superheroes but just... characters. And my archenemy... okay, I know this sounds like a superhero movie, but it's not.

"But yeah, since we constantly have to fight him, he's always coming up with ways to try and kill me. This time, he kidnapped and is probably killing my friends off one by one. My scientist friend teleported me out of the place before my enemy could kill me. He sent me here so my enemy wouldn't know where I was."

We just stare silently.

Murr asks, "Why did you pass out then?"

"Because I got beat up. It just doesn't look like it. I can't be killed so whenever I get hurt I usually come out without a scratch. Now I just have this mark."

She lifts a strand of hair on her forehead. A single what looked like a knife mark streaked across it.

Then she was quiet. She seemed talkative compared to how she was two days ago.

That tension formed between Joe, Murr, Q, and me just by her passing out. I could imagine how bad it would be now since we know Abigail's a superhero and experiences violence. 

The four of us are just silent. It's the worst silence yet. The most awkward it's ever been between us since we met in high school.

Abigail realizes there's nothing else she can say to us and says, "Well, I shold get going. I kind of have to save my friends before they die."

I felt bad about how silent we were being to her, since she's a fan of us and Impractical Jokers.

She makes a ribbon appear on her waist and takes it, using magic to open the window. She throws the ribbon out and it extends and hooks onto a building. She's about to swing out.

"Wait!"

We turn to look at him.

Q.

"Don't leave."

Abigail now turns to look at him.

"Your enemy could still be looking for you. You could come to my house. We could maybe... help you?"

"I couldn't do that to you. He could find me at your house and hurt you guys. I wouldn't forgive myself if he did."

"Please..."

He takes a step forward. I wanted to yell, "Q, what are you doing?!?"

Next Murr steps forward. Then Joe. I'm the last one.

"Sal..." Joe says softly.

I shake my head like a frightened animal. I just couldn't... accept this.

"It'll be alright," he says.

"Yeah, Sal," Q says, losing his stutterring. He jokes, "It's my car we took here so I say who comes into it."

I smile and reach out to their extended hands and say, "Fine."

It takes Abigail a moment to think about it, but says, "If you're okay with it."

She de-transforms and we leave the room. We tell her doctor she's ready to be tooken out of the hospital. They run a few tests and find she's okay. Well, except for the scratch on her forehead.


	5. The Superhero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry about the sudden end of chapter in Chapter 4. It was already kind of long so here's a shorter chapter before the last one. Oh man, I was writing a little bit of the next book and I hope you're prepared to cry your heart out, because man that thing is deep. As always hope you enjoy! (Also hope you enjoy the character chosen from Stupid Mario Bros. to be in this series!)

We get to Q's car and I sit in the front with Q, and Abigail sits between Murr and Joe. Q starts to drive and I immediately regretted my agreement with the guys to let Abigail come with. The silence is back; all of us just thinking. I bet Abigail felt completely awkward.

Please not this, I think, anything but this.

I don't understand. We're with a superhero and there's still nothing to say. I try thinking of something.

"So what's your super villain's name? Catman?" I ask her.

"Dr. Evil Dog?" Q guesses jokingly.

"Dr. Evil?" guesses Murr.

"Evil Man?" Joe tries.

Abigail laughs and says jokingly, "Good guesses, but no."

She says, "It's Nox Decious."

Wow. That got creepy fast. Nox Decious sounds like the name of a phantom of something. Why is her superhero name Wolfgirl, but his is Nox Decious. It should at least have an animal or evil in the name.

Q asks, "What's your superpower?"

"I don't know how to answer that," she says, "I have a lot of different superpowers."

"What's your supervillain's power?" Murr asked.

I bet he didn't want to say Nox Decious because it sounds creepy.

"He uses a lot of dark magic," she says, "And he can move things with his mind."

I shiver. I don't want to have a run in with him.

The rest of the ride's not that interesting. Abigail talks about her friends and we listen quietly.

We finally get to Q's house. We kind of show Abigail around, but that's it. Then we sit in Q's living room.

"What can we do to help you beat Nox Decious?" he asks.

"I don't know," she says, "I probably have to fight him to get my friends back. I'll wait for him to come here."

That made me shudder a little. We had to wait for Nox Decious. It felt like a death sentence.

We just sat there in silence, Abigail joining in with us. She probably had thoughts of her own. We were too afraid to turn on the TV. That is kind of what started this whole mess in the first place. I'm still mad at the guys for bringing Abigail with us.

After a while, something breaks the silence. I jump and almost yell as Abigail breaks into a horrible coughing fit. Q, sitting the closest to her, leans over her and starts saying stuff like "breathe" and "deep breaths." Joe, Murr, and I watch from a safe distance.

She ended up on the floor, clutching her stomach. When the coughing stopped, Q helped her up.

"Hey, are you alright?" Q asks softly.

She kind of just groans and doesn't look at him. She looks up and her face is all red.

"Sorry. It's probably just an after-effect of Nox Decious killing me."

She goes through the kitchen to the hallway where the bathroom is, out of our view.

I wonder if she actually meant killed and not hurt.

Abigail's in the hallway of the bathroom. She hoped the guys didn't see her. She didn't want them to get hurt.

"I know you made me unconscious and have that coughing fit," she says to the man in front of her.

"Yes. It is not like you needed it. You're already weak enough as it is."

She scowled.

"Where are my friends at?" she asks angrily.

"Well it's not like you'll get out alive to find them."

The person was clad in a ski mask and hood. It was...

Nox Decious.


	6. The Supervillain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (IMPORTANT): Hey guys! I bet you're wondering why there's going to be a ton more chapters even though this is supposed to be the last one. The thing is I don't know how many books are going to be in this series, and I don't want to post multiple books, so I'm putting Book 2 in the Not a Normal Day story. It's going to be two books in one story. And as always, I hope you enjoy this last chapter of Book 1! (Note: I do not own any characters in this story except for Abigail. Nox Decious is actually from something.)

I lightly drummed my fingers on my legs. I kept looking towards the hallway I couldn't see. Why hadn't Abigail come from back from the bathroom yet? 

"Guys, why hasn't Abigail come back yet? It's been like ten minutes."

"You know how long it takes girls to use the bathroom," Q says.

He was sort of nervous about Abigail. He had formed a crush on her after finding out she was a superhero and helping her stop the coughing fit. Getting close to her... But Murr had one too...

"Yeah, is she okay?" Murr asked. 

"I bet she's fine," Joe says, hoping it was true.

"I'll go see," I say.

I walk into the kitchen. I had a bad feeling about what Abigail was doing. I peek my head into the hallway and immediately pull my head out. I have to cover my mouth with my hand to not scream.

Abigail was fighting a man in a ski mask and hood. Could it be Nox Decious? How could he have gotten into the house? Abigail was pushed up against the wall. Decious had a knife in hand.

What should I do? What should I do? My breaths started to get heavy and it felt hard to breathe. Deep breaths, Sal, I think to myself. Deep breaths.

I look around the kitchen for something to help Abigail. I can't let Nox Decious kill her. She was already beat up by him once. 

I grab a knife from a drawer. I couldn't tell the guys what was going on. They could get hurt. I knew I would.

Abigail struggled to get out of Nox Decious's grasp. She was still weak from the unconsciousness and coughing. She couldn't escape as easily. Not like it was ever easy for her to escape. 

"Oh, look at this," Decious says, seeing the scar on her forehead, "I remember giving you this two days ago."

He runs the pointy tip of the knife he made appear out of midair across it. Abigail resisted the urge to scream. She couldn't let the guys hear. It was too dangerous.

I try to sneak into the hallway with the knife. Nox Decious wasn't noticing me. That was a relief. My heart felt like it was beating at a hundred miles an hour. I could possibly die by doing this. All I had to do was stab him...

I get close enough behind him. I didn't even know if Abigail noticed me. I raised the knife and stabbed it into his back. It was the first time I had stabbed someone, or even held a knife this dangerous. The knife was stuck in his back and blood started to flow. I felt like a murderer. 

But the thing was he didn't die.

I wanted to run, but my feet felt glued to the ground. I was too fearful to run. He would have caught me.

He just slowly turned around to face me. He had stuck his knife into Abigail's shoulder. Mine was still lodged into his back. Oh-no oh-no oh-no oh-no...

He started to laugh. Maybe he was just suffering a slow death? I didn't think he was dying at all.

"How cute," he says mockingly, "a mortal's trying to save his magic friend. Well let me tell you something. You can't kill me."

I was pretty sure he was going to stab me, but he did something else. Abigail said he could move things with his mind. He reached his arms forward. I felt an invisible force push me into the wall. It felt like the air did it. The impact of my head hitting the wall hurt.

"Don't hurt him!" Abigail says, the knife still in her shoulder. 

She pulls it out and throws a punch at Decious. She hits him right in the face. They continued throwing punches at each other until Decious extends his arms and makes Abigail fly into the far wall. 

I balance myself after hitting the wall and run up to Decious and try and punch him. I hit him in the back of the head.

He rubs his head and says to me, "You're starting to get on my nerves." 

He extends his arms again and I fly much harder into the wall. It was the first time I had ever been knocked out.

Meanwhile, with Joe, Murr, and Q, they were getting concerned at how neither Abigail nor I had returned. They were afraid something had happened. They heard banging against the walls, and quiet talking. 

They carefully make their way to the hallway. They're absolutely shocked when they see Abigail knocked against the wall and Nox Decious.

He says, "Well you must be my enemy's other three friends. I already took care of one of you." He gestures to me.

They turn their heads to me, unconscious, on the ground against the wall. 

"Sal!" Q yells.

They're about to run, but Decious extends his arm and stops them. They struggled to move. It was like the air held them in place.

Decious started to form in his hand what looked like three black balls of darkness. Like dark energy.

Abigail, starting to wake up, saw what he was doing. 

"No!" she yells.

"Quiet you!" Decious says to her, swiping his arm at her.

It felt like an invisible hand grabbed her neck and pushed her against the wall. She tried to move any body part. Any. Arms, legs, head.

Joe, Murr, and Q were getting extremely nervous. They were frozen and the dark energy got larger and larger in Decious's hand. The bigger it got, the more Abigail struggled. Must... move... something, she thought.

Finally, Nox Decious shot the dark energy. The three collapsed once their chests were hit. Abigail continued to struggle, knowing the dark magic was settling into them. She had to stop Decious. She had to save her new friends and her captured ones.

She at last got an arm free. She broke loose of Decious and attacked him with an arm swipe of her own. No matter how many times he defeated her, they both knew that she would always be stronger. Her attack sent him flying into the kitchen. He might have just been weak from forming the dark magic.

He was on the floor trying to get up when she hovered over him. 

"You've been defeated, Decious."

He scowled and said, "I'll be back. You know I'll be back." 

She grabbed the neck of his hood and slammed him against the wall. She made this an excuse to get a tracker on him to find her kidnapped friends. She used a spell to make sure he wouldn't find the tracker. It was one of those spells that doesn't take a lot of magic to use. 

She says to him, "And I'll defeat you for good someday."

She steps away from him as he dissappears. As soon as he's gone she runs back into the hallway.

She was freaking out. Joe, Murr, and Q had been hit with dark magic. She didn't know how to get rid of it. Whenever she got hit with it, her body would just tough it out. Since the three weren't magic she only had a few ideas on how to get it out. She would have to ask her scientist friend. He would know.

She felt each of their foreheads, since darkness usually caused heat, and their heartbeats to see if they were still breathing. Their hearts sounded good enough but their heads felt like they were on fire. She wondered how much magic Decious used to make the energy. It was probably a lot.

After a minute of seeing how the guys were, Abigail started to feel sick. She started to heat up and it felt like there was smoke. She backed away from the three. That's when she realized they were emitting it. That wasn't good. It looked like dark magic flowed around their motionless lifeforms. She could only survive a minute around it, but a regular mortal couldn't even go by the polluted bodies.

Then she heard a groan. She thought it could have been one of the three awaking, but knew it would be a while until they woke up. 

It was me that was waking up.

Abigail rushes over to me, "Sal, are you okay? I'm sorry you had to suffer that. Thanks for trying to save me, though."

She helps me up.

"It's okay," I say, even though I feel awful. Then I start to feel worse. "What happened to the guys?" There was blackness flowing around them.

"They were hit with dark magic," she says, "See what happens when you go by them?"

I do try walking up to them. I can't, though. 

The second I walk up to them I feel sick. The heat is immense and it smells like smoke. Not only that, but I have a major mood swing. I start to feel sad, angry, and scared for no reason. When I back away from them, I start to feel better and the random emotion change stops.

I realize the source of the horrible feeling is my friends; my best friends since high school. We had been through everything together. Now here they are flowing darkness.

My voice starts to sound upset, "That's not how humans work! Why are they like this? How will they wake up? How can you fix it?"

"Calm down. I'll figure out how to fix them as soon as possible. When they wake up, they'll be confused. It'll be best to tell them they've been filled with dark magic. It's kind of like a blood flowing through the body. They'll probably be depressed and emotionally unstable. I promise they'll only have to suffer tomorrow. Just make sure they don't do anything drastic."

I understood what she said, but was still confused.

"I have to go," Abigail says.

"No, don't leave! Please..."

It was too late. She was already dissappearing.

I was just left alone in the hallway in Q's house. I looked again at the guys. They looked horrible, surrounded by darkness, eyes closed, sprawled on the floor. I just couldn't take it.

They reminded me of all the events happening in the past two days: Abigail passing out, learning she was a superhero, learning about her being tortured and constantly watching others get hurt. The silence between the four of us, our tensions, our tears. Seeing Nox Decious, stabbing him, watching him stab Abigail, being knocked out. And last, seeing my friends looking dead, going to wake up and feel horrible.

I realized I was all alone. I never wanted the silence. I wanted it to end. Now silence is all I'm going to get tomorrow. My friends are going to want to be alone. Tons of Abigail's words went through my head, like a blood flowing through the body, and depressed and emotionally unstable, and make sure they don't do anything drastic. All of these sentences freaked me out.

I took one more look at the guys. My eyes started to water and their figures were blurred. I stood at a safe distance from the guys, leaning against the wall. I gently pressed my head against it, still hurting from the concussion. 

I slowly lower myself down the wall, until I'm sitting with my head resting on my legs. I start to sob. What if everything changes? What if what happens tomorrow affects us so much our friendship is broken? What if the show ends? Tomorrow can't be that bad... can it? 

So I sit and contemplate all of these things. And I let myself cry. All I know is that I'm alone and once again, in silence.


	7. The Dreaded Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's the first chapter of Book 2! For anyone who hasn't read all 6 past chapters, you probably should to be caught up for this book. This chapter's kind of a short summary of some of Book 1, since it's supposed to be the start of a different book. Hope you enjoy! (WARNING: This book is different from the last. It involves more violence and pain and builds on the concept of dark magic; it'll be a lot more emotional.)

We were at my house on one normal summer day. The only thing is it wasn't normal.

It has been three days since I saw a lady named Abigail pass out in Central Park. Only a day ago, I learned that the same lady was a superhero known as Wolfgirl. I also met her supervillain, Nox Decious. I got knocked out by him and my friends had something called dark magic put into them.

And that leads us to the topic of my friends. After I woke up from my concussion, I saw that they had darkness surrounding them and was told by Abigail that the darkness was surrounding them inside and out. She said they'd be depressed and emotionally unstable until she could get the darkness out of them. She said it could be fixed by tomorrow. We all just had to survive one day. I knew it would be hard for them. I felt the dark magic around them for only a few seconds and it felt awful. I remember crying for hours waiting for them to wake up.

When they actually did wake up, they were just tired. The darkness on the outside faded. They didn't show signs of depression or random emotions like sadness, anger, or fear. They just seemed exhausted. I had to drive them to their houses since my friend who's car he was supposed to drive was too tired to do so. I was the only one not filled with dark magic, with my head only hurting a little from my concussion. 

They were made so tired from the darkness that they actually slept during the car ride. It had been forever since I've done that. My friends Joe and Murr were in the back and Q was in the passenger's seat, even though it was his car, and it was his house we were driving from (you could guess which of the four I am.) I told him to come with for the drive because I was afraid to leave him at his house alone. You know, in case he tried killing himself or something. I had no control over what they did overnight, though.

Now it was the day after. The day I dreaded. I drove to their houses today and we went to my house. When picking them up, I noticed how considerably different they looked from yesterday. Today, Q's hair looked really scraggly, like he hadn't even looked at it before he left the house, and it almost looked like there were black circles under his eyes. Murr's eyes looked extremely red compared to yesterday. Joe had large black and blue circles under his eyes.

I bet they hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night. I felt bad because even though I didn't sleep well, I still slept. And I actually looked... how should I say this... decent. I was able to wash my hair and beard in the morning. I'm pretty sure Q, Murr, and Joe hadn't even looked in the mirror.

We get to my house. I could only imagine what they were feeling or thinking. I didn't even want to think about it. We sit in silence. It's not surprising. We also sat in silence during the car ride. 

I try to carefully observe how each of them were acting. Q was scratching at his wrists. I thought they looked kind of red but I probably just imagined it. Murr kept rubbing his head, and no, it was not to check if hair had suddenly appeared on his head. It was like it was hurting or something. Joe kept rubbing his eyelids. I wondered how long he was up last night.

I know for once that I expected the silence, but wanted it to end more than ever. I didn't want them to be trapped with their thoughts. I was afraid to do anything, however, because I was afraid they'd snap at me.

I finally had an idea. We were in my living room and there was a TV. I take the remote and turn the TV on.

"Whatcha doin', Sal?" Q asked hoarsely. 

It was the first sentence he'd said to me today.

I turn on Impractical Jokers. I bet we all couldn't believe how different we were when filming from how we are right now. It's like how superheroes are both regular people and outgoing people in masks. It's like we're not in our superhero forms and are watching them now.

First, we kind of just watched silently. Then we started to laugh. And soon, we started to talk how we usually do, not letting the silence take over us. It was amazing. Q stopped scratching his wrists, Murr stopped rubbing his head, and Joe stopped rubbing his eyelids. I wished it could have stayed like this the whole day.


	8. Q's Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry about how it's going to be confusing to figure out who's talking in this chapter. The italics weren't working... Also sorry about how awfully sad these chapters are going to be. Chapter 7 was the only part of Book 2 that isn't extremely depressing. But I hope you can at least try to... feel feelings(?). (All I know is that I'm going to cry while writing these chapters.)

Q woke up on the day he was filled with dark magic being extremely tired. He had actually fallen asleep in his car. He didn't know how he could have been that tired. Sal had driven him back to his house walked home. He went to bed hoping he would feel better the next morning...

...That didn't happen.

He went into a restless sleep, until he heard a voice in his head. 

'You're not worth it.'

He woke up with a jolt. It sounded like someone was in his room.

"What?" he said. 

He looked at one of his cats, Benjamin Cat. The furry creature was staring at him, confused. Q just thought he had a weird thought. He went back to sleep.

'Why would anyone even care about you?'

He woke up again. This time in a mad sweat. How had he even gotten so sweaty? He went back to sleep again, hoping the thoughts would stop.

'You would be better off dead.'

Q gasped and started breathing heavily, sweat still streaming down his face. He pushed his hair back and felt his forehead. It was extremely hot.

He got up to get a drink of water from the bathroom. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He saw the sweat visible on his face and his flushed cheeks. 

He went back to his bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. He finally fell back to sleep.

'Why do your friends even care about you?'

Q jolted awake, feeling even worse. He felt more sweat and his breathing get heavier. He wiped his face with a hand and noticed tears started to come with the sweat.

'You're the outsider of your friends. You know that.'

That time he wasn't even asleep.

"Stop!" he yells to his thoughts.

'You're lucky you have them. Without them, you'd have nothing.'

He covered his face with his hands and screamed. His cats bolted out of the room.

'You would have already killed yourself if it wasn't for them.'

He screamed again.

"STOP!!!"

He jumps from the bed and bangs his head against the wall, hoping the the thoughts was stop the weaker his head was.

But the thoughts continued. Getting worse and worse.

'Why do you even try to make others proud of you... you're a failure... a disappointment...'

"Stop! Please..."

Q continues banging his head against the wall. It makes the thoughts worse. He had to make them stop...

He ran to the kitchen, looking for anything. He found a sharp knife. He didn't want to, but he started scratching at his wrists with it. The pain started to fade in his brain but started in his wrists. He kept scratching, his wrists slowly getting red and bloody. He grimaced when looking at them. They were all scratched up and they were hurting Q extremely badly. 

The thoughts had finally stopped. He went to the bathroom to try and wash off the blood. The water made the bruises burn, so he got off only the blood. His wrists were still really red when he got back into his bed.

He considered not going back to sleep, but was afraid he would go insane, so he at least tried to fall asleep. He thought he had finally escaped the thoughts but then...

'You can only try to destroy what's inside.'

He woke up screaming. Not only had the thoughts come back, but there were now flashbacks and horrible images. All were terrible moments and some things that never happened, all flashing before his eyes. There were even visions of his friends telling him the thoughts that the voice had been saying. 

"GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!!!" 

He couldn't take it. He ran to get the knife. He madly started tearing at his wrists again, the pain blinding. The tears started to rush down his face and he began sobbing uncontrollably.

He wished it would all stop. He wanted the thoughts to end... a vein finally popping and knowing that the voice was leaving and everything was getting black and ending... That the next day his friends would have called and thought he was just busy, but then found out that he would never wake up... 

On the floor of his bedroom, he continued mercilessly scratching and tearing at his wrists, all the while the thoughts getting more and more horrible.

"Please... just let it stop..." he said, shedding tears.

He was finally able to cry himself to sleep.


	9. Murr and Joe's Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Man, sorry about how emotional last chapter was. I feel like I'll be apologizing for every chapter. This chapter's about Murr and Joe's nights after getting the dark magic. This chapter's going to be emotional for all of you who cried for hours over the last chapter. Hope you enjoy it whoever thought last chapter was... I don't know, well written(?)

Murr woke up on the day he was filled with dark magic feeling like Q was. He experienced different effects, though. When Sal dropped him off at his house, and even before that, his head started to hurt. It didn't hurt that much, almost like he had a headache. It continued to stay like that way when he went to bed.

He fell asleep fine until he felt a throb in his head that continued. He grimaced. He thought it might have just been head pain. He tried to fall back to sleep.

The throbbing got worse. It felt like a shock was sent up his brain. It was so bad he made a sort of groaning sound. He went to the bathroom and got some headache medicine. He took a few of the pills and went back to bed. The throbbing continued.

The next jolt of pain was the worst yet. It felt like someone shot a bullet into his head.

He couldn't resist the urge to scream. It came out high-pitched and nervous. The pain was so immense, that tears were brought to Murr's eyes. He tried to stop them, but they were uncontrollable. Both of his hands flew to his forehead. He could feel the throbbing.

The last jolt felt horrible enough to cause death. It felt like his brain had burst. He fell out of the bed, screaming. He began to writhe in agony on the floor. The tears kept coming and he felt like he was crying out blood. 

He tried to get back onto the bed. He stood up, but his legs felt too weak and he fell. The screaming had stopped, but he continued to draw in long, ragged breaths. He tried to lift his arm but couldn't produce enough energy. 

Still crying, he felt his eyes grow heavy and his breaths get shorter and shorter. The head pain started to fade, along with his consciousness. Soon Murr was totally unconscious and hoped he would soon feel like he was sleeping.

* * *

Joe along with Q and Murr woke up exhausted on that awful day. By the time Sal had driven him home, he was feeling sick enough to sleep on the couch. He was afraid whatever he was feeling would spread to his wife. It felt like he had a bad flu. 

On the couch, he just stared up at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep.

It felt like an hour had passed and he still hadn't fallen asleep. It wouldn't have been that bad if it didn't feel like he had a flu. Another hour passed and the more tired Joe got, the more he ached.

He tried again to close his eyes, but felt a drip on his arm. He quickly wiped it away. He felt like it continued, though. He reached for the spot where it felt like something was flowing down his arm. He wiped it off again but it felt like a lot of liquid. He looked at his hand. The dripping wasn't water...

In the darkness of his living room, Joe could sort make out the continuous blood flowing down his arm. He didn't know how it could have started. The pain he was feeling could have possibly found its way out of him. All he knew was that he had to stop the blood before it got on his couch or carpet.

He rushed to the kitchen sink, trying to not let the blood drip off his arm. He rinsed the blood off and saw that there was a big cut on his arm. He would have to hide that from his wife.

He went back to the couch, hoping no other body parts would somehow get cuts on them. The flu-like feeling continued. He wished that would stop too.

His eyes felt extremely droopy and he really wanted to fall asleep. He thought he had fallen asleep, but his hand flew to his forehead. The liquid was back.

Joe's eyes popped open and he resisted the urge to yell. He was about to go and wash the blood off his head, but the pain got worse. It felt like his brain was sending signals that were saying to stop working to parts of his body. He was afraid if he stood up he would fall.

He tried using his hands to wipe the blood off his head. It started to drip onto his nose and just seemed to keep flowing. Then things got worse and his arm started to bleed again. He started to form a headache. The flu feeling was getting worse.

He wanted to keep using his hands to stop the flowing blood, but his arms started to feel heavy and hard to raise. He wanted to start crying but was afraid his tears would come out as blood. As well as his arms, Joe's eyes started to get heavy and he was finally able to close them and sleep.


	10. Won't Let Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter's probably going to be my favorite because of the almost ship moment between Sal and Q, and I just loved writing it. I hope you can enjoy it too!

We are currently at the mall, going to film for Impractical Jokers. I desperately didn't want to be here. Well, for the guys, I should say. They were in no condition to film. But I couldn't just walk up to the producers and say, "Sorry guys, we have to cancel filming. The other guys are all feeling sick apparently and can't be happy for the day. Thanks for understanding."

I drove the guys to the mall after we were watching TV at my house. Being there was the only happy part of today. We had to film because I just couldn't say that the three guys were all feeling sick. We aren't allowed to tell the producers about Abigail, Nox Decious, and the dark magic. I could've just lied and said we all weren't feeling good or that one of us wasn't feeling well. It's just that the producers would get suspicious.

Before we started filming, we had some time to just hang out, get food, and practice our scripts. Joe, Murr, Q, and I decided to get some food. It was pointless, though. The four of us just sat there and didn't eat. The guys were afraid they couldn't hold it down, and I would didn't want to eat because I thought it would make them feel jealous. I wondered if they already envied me, since I didn't have to feel what they were feeling. 

The three guys with dark magic were still feeling what they were the night before, but not as badly. Q still had the thoughts buzzing through his mind, Murr had a headache again, and Joe still felt like he had the flu. I didn't even know they were suffering these things.

Even though all three of them were suffering, Q was hurting the most. The thoughts seemed to burn at his insides. The voice wanted him to break. It was driving him insane. 

He was watching the people pass by in the mall. He was filled with jealousy and a yearn to be like them. They just walked by, happy and not filled with constant thoughts telling them to die. He kept quickly glancing at me, but I didn't notice. He wanted so much to be me at that moment, since I wasn't suffering. I felt like I was suffering knowing he was in pain.

I saw how Q looked like he was thinking about something. He looked so sad, so desperate.

"Are you okay, Q?" I ask.

"Yeah, Sal, I'm fine," he murmured, head down.

I grasped my friends's hand under the table.

"Are you sure?" I say, with real concern and pity in my voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says, standing up, sounding slightly annoyed.

The more angry he got, the more the thoughts took over. He had to stop getting angry. Why was he even getting angry? He had to stop the thoughts. They were getting worse. They're too strong, he thought desperately.

"Why do you even care?" he asked, irritated.

"Because I care about you," I say to him, standing up too. I was shocked that he asked that.

'He doesn't care about you.'

'No one ever will.'

Q wanted to yell at the thoughts. He couldn't because there were people around. His eyes glanced over at the bag he brought. He looked away from it and faced his friend. The thoughts continued to pound. He looked at the bag again. 

'Take the bag, Q. Take it.'

No... he couldn't listen to the thoughts.

He continued to get angry. His eyes started to well up with tears.

"You'll never care, Sal!" he says tearfully.

"Q, why would you even say something like that?" I say, concerned about why my friend was getting so emotional.

"You'll never be able to care..."

He keeps throwing glances at the bag.

'Take it. This can all stop...'

He covers his face with his hands and lets out a cry of distress.

"Q, it's alright..." I say, trying to get Q to stop freaking out. I had no idea what was going on in his head...

...Or what he was going to do next.

"No, Sal! It will never be alright! You don't know what it's doing to me... I can't take it..."

His eyes lock on to the bag. He grabs it and starts to run.

"Q, wait!" I yell. I start to run after him.

The whole time, Joe and Murr had just been watching, totally stunned and unsure of what to do. Joe knew that Q had the outburst because of the dark magic. He was thinking about his own dark magic, and if his pain would start doing something to him like it did to Q. He needed some time alone.

Joe started to walk off, his head down. Murr looked to where he was standing, then saw him walking away.

"Joe!" he called.

I had lost sight of Q while running. I stopped to catch my breath. I was aware people could see me.

"Q," I called out, "Where did you go?"

I saw a figure that looked like Q rush into the bathroom. I hurried to it. 

Let's just say it was glad I got there soon...

When I got into the bathroom, I saw that Q had been keeping a knife in his bag. He was about to stab himself... kill himself.

Q didn't know I was there. He looked at me, worried, and I grabbed onto the knife, his firm hold still on it.

"Q, what are you doing?" I yell at him.

"Sal, I can't take it anymore!" he cries, tears running down his cheeks.

"You don't have to kill yourself!"

"You don't know what it feels like!"

"I don't have to know. I just know that you can't kill yourself... it's not worth it," I say, my voice getting softer.

'You're not worth it.'

That was the first thing the voice had said to him.

'You would be better off dead.'

Q tried to bring the knife down. He had to end it. It would be quick...

But I would not let go of the knife.

"Sal, let go!" 

"No!"

"Sal, please," Q begs, breaking into sobs and falling to his knees, "The thoughts are killing me. They won't stop. It's like they replaced my blood with darkness and it's flowing through my body, not letting any good thoughts in..."

I kind of just stand there for a moment, watching the man cry on the floor. I don't know if I'd ever seen Q sob before. I get onto my knees with him.

"Q, it's okay..." I say to him, using my hand to gently push his hair out of his eyes.

He continues to sniffle.

I surprise him by wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He drops the knife and it clanks to the ground. He's about to pull away but doesn't. He buries his face into my shoulder and is quiet.

The thoughts finally started to fade. Q knew they would come back later. But he enjoyed the moment, relaxing in my grasp. We just knelt there for a few minutes, completely buried in our hug. We were lucky no one walked into the bathroom.

I was going to pull away, but Q grabbed onto me.

"Please, Sal... don't stop... I don't want to feel the pain again..."

"It's alright, Q. Just remember this."

We finally stop our hug. I look at Q's wrists.

"Q, your wrists..."

"I cut at them last night," he says, remembering the incident.

We look at ourselves side by side in the bathroom mirror. Our eyes are both red and Q's hair is still disheveled.

"I look like a mess," he says, smiling.

Q puts the knife back into the bag and we leave the bathroom, trying to not make it look weird that two dudes just walked out of a bathroom together after being there for over five minutes.


	11. Pain and Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you enjoy this probably short chapter. I feel like they're all short... Anyway, this chapter takes place at the same setting as the last chapter, the mall, so it's most likely the best continuation I've ever done. Hope you enjoy!

"Joe, stop!" Murr keeps calling.

For five minutes, Joe had just kept on walking and Murr followed a few feet behind.

"Joe, where are you going?"

Joe finally stops, his back to Murr. Murr can finally catch up to him.

"Joe, are you okay?"

Joe turns to face Murr, his eyes watery. Murr is surprised. Joe isn't usually sensitive.

"No, Murr! I'm not! I was hurting a lot yesterday. Even my wife had to ask me if I was alright. This whole magic thing is starting to interfere with our lives. And if you want to know the truth, Murr... I'm scared."

Murr could relate to his friend's pain. He had felt hurt and suffering last night too.

"It'll be alright, Joe," he says, putting his hand on Joe's shoulder, "We'll get through this."

He wraps his arms around Joe in a hug. Joe's taken aback, but doesn't pull away. His pain slowly starts to fade and he relaxes in his friend's comfort. Just two guys hugging in a mall, he thought, not weird.

Murr is about to tell Joe about his horrible night when he feels the familiar throbbing in his head.

Oh-no, he thought, frightened, it's back.

Tons of thoughts went through his brain. What would happen with the pain now? Would it be worse? Could he actually die this time? The worst part was that people could see him.

Murr's grip on his friend tightened. They pulled out of the hug, both of them unwillingly.  
"Murr, are you okay?" Joe asked, now his turn to be concerned.

Murr just kind of nods his head. But he wasn't alright. He wasn't at all.

The second stage of the pain came. It felt like a shock was sent up his brain. He didn't know if it felt worse than the night before. It still hurt badly like he remembered.

He felt like he was going to pass out before the worst jolts even occured. He was filled with a ton of nervousness from the night before. He felt the strength slowly leaving in his legs. His hand went to forehead and he could still hear his head's throbbing. He groaned. He could barely hear Joe speaking to him.

"Murr... Murr, do you need a hospital?" 

"No..." he says. No one could know about the dark magic.

The third part of the pain occurred. It felt like a bullet hit his head. Murr covered his face with his hands to not scream. Luckily, no sound came out of his mouth. The worst part would happen soon...

Murr couldn't stand up anymore. He fell and Joe caught him. He could hear his friend keep saying his name.

"Joe..." he said weakly, "Get me somewhere no one can see... I don't know if I'll make it through this..."

He knew there was concern on his friend's face. Joe put one arm around Murr and started to drag him to the nearest bathroom.

Meanwhile, Q and I were walking around the mall, looking for Joe and Murr. We had gone back to the table we were sitting at and found that the two weren't there. We checked the places they could've been at, and then randomly started looking around.

Q and I both saw Joe first. I was about to ask where he had been, but then noticed Murr. My face went pale. 

Joe was dragging Murr. He looked like he was going to lose consciousness. His face was extremely red and he had almost a look of depression on him. It looked like he wanted to scream or cry.

"Joe, what happened?" asked Q, concerned.

"I don't know," he says, with hints of worry and confusion in his voice, "He just started to get weak. He said to bring him somewhere no one can see."

Q and I look at Murr again. We expected him to maybe say something, but he looked in no condition to.

"Q, where was the bathroom at?" I ask him, thinking we could get Murr to there.

Q leads the way to the bathroom that the two of us were in together. The four of us walked in silence. The only sounds heard were Murr's ragged breaths and the surrounding voices of the people in the mall. Joe is still trying to comfort Murr, telling him that he'll be okay.

We get to the bathroom. There's luckily a lock on the door and I use it so no one can get into the room. Q checks to see if anyone's in the stalls currently and says that we're all clear once he finishes. Joe lightly lowers Murr to the ground.

The pain Murr was feeling was intense. He felt himself being layed down but didn't even know where. The pain was so blinding that he couldn't see anything. Tears started to form in his eyes. He wanted to start sobbing and scream.

Then the fourth and final stage hit. It felt like his brain had burst. Murr couldn't help but scream. The tears were now uncontrollable and he started sobbing.

Through all of this, Joe, Q, and I watched. We felt horrible and helpless. We needed to do something to help our friend. Especially since he's screaming, crying, and writhing on the floor.

After a few minutes, Murr started to settle down. It was because he was getting weaker. He started to feel the life getting sucked out of him, the pain becoming more overwhelming. He felt like everything was ending...

"Murr, it's okay..." Joe says softly, helping Murr up and letting him lean on him.

"Yeah, Murr," Q says, "it's alright." He grasps Murr's hand.

"You're going to be okay," I say to him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

Tears continued to roll down his face, but he smiled, knowing that the three of us were with him. We all go into a group hug. Murr was hanging onto us the tightest because he was feeling weak, but his pain was starting to fade. And it wasn't fading with his life.

We all stand there for a few minutes, Joe, Q, and Murr finally being able to fight their dark magic. The three didn't want the moment to end. Their pain would return, maybe being worse. But they fought it now as best as they could, triumphing because of the presence of the four of us being together.

We finally all agree to stop the hug, our tears dried up. We at last felt okay. We left the bathroom because people obviously were going to start getting suspicious. We realized we still had to film that day. We felt like we were able to. We would just have to look like we were not exhausted and crying.


	12. The Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry about how dark and depressing these chapters are going to become. Book 3 is already in the making, though. Hope you enjoy these almost last few chapters!

We film for Impractical Jokers, being able to convince the producers and crew that nothing bad just happened or is happening. But there was something bad happening.

After we finish, I drive Q, Murr, and Joe home. Then I just hope for tomorrow to come. It's not like something was going to happen before tomorrow...

...Well, I should stop assuming.

When Q gets home, he tries to eat, play with cats, and watch TV, anything to get away from the thoughts. They hadn't started up again, so he tried staying distracted. He was watching IJ when...

‘You're trying to escape me...’

Q gulps and takes a deep breath. He turns off the TV. He had to confront the thoughts... that awful voice in his head.

"Go away," he says. It's the only thing he can manage.

‘That's cute.’

Q starts to realize how terrified he should be of the voice. The words it said were extremely clear, like a person could be standing right next to him. And now he can actually talk with it.

"Get out of my head," he says, trying to be confident.

‘Really, stop. You're making me laugh.’

Q tries to look as brave as he can, hoping there wasn't fear on his face. He was standing up now. He was looking around as if someone actually was in the room. The voice sounded so real...

‘You can't fight me. I know everything about you, Brian Quinn. I can look into your mind. I can see things no one else has saw...’

Now Q was extremely freaked out. Could this voice be a person?

Suddenly tons of visions were sent to his mind. He stumbles backwards. The visions weren't his. They weren't flashes of horrible things that had happened in his life. The visions were horrible, though.

"What was that?" he asks, terrified, to no one. The voice hears him.

‘It's what happens to people who try to fight me. I showed you the people I have destroyed.’

There was a murderer in his head.

Q's breath started to get heavier. It was completely silent, but he could hear his heart pounding. How could the voice be talking to him so clearly? He felt like he was being driven insane.

"Get out. NOW," Q says, showing no signs of fear in his voice.

‘You're really brave enough to stand up to me? You saw what I do to those who defy me. I end them.’

This conversation was the most the voice had ever said to him. It was enough to even be considered a conversation.

"I'm not afraid of you."

‘Not afraid of me? NOT AFRAID OF ME? You foolish mortal! You will pay.’

'Mortal?' Who was this person inside his brain? Was it someone with...? Dark magic. Q never heard the person speak, but he knew the one who inflicted him with the darkness in the first place was inside his brain.

"Nox Decious."

‘It took you long enough to figure that out.’

"Where are you really at Decious? Fight me!" he says, getting angry, knowing that the person that is causing the horrible thoughts is somewhere out there.

‘Your confidence is not going to work. You saw how that turns out for my nemesis. Everyone she loves will be destroyed... including you.’

Q's stomach seemed to flutter a little at the thought of Abigail; also at hearing that she might actually like him. He had formed a crush on her when they met.

"I have people that care about me, Decious. I won't let you make me try to kill myself again. I have Abigail, Joe, Murr, and Sal. They won't let me die."

‘But they are all going to die.’

Q was now infuriated. "I WILL NEVER LET YOU HURT THEM!"

Then he hears a laugh inside of his head. 

‘You are too funny.’

"I love them too much to allow anything to happen to them..." Q says to himself.

‘I bet you love one of them a lot...’

Q groaned. He knew where this was going. It was still going to affect him, though. It just took three letters...

‘Sal.’

"Stop..."

‘The way he stopped you from killing yourself.’

"Stop."

‘The way you look at him.’

"I... I don't..." he trails off.

‘The way you think of him.’

Q growls. He couldn't let Decious tamper with his thoughts... his morals. I don't like Sal like that, Q thinks, I don't. I don't. I don't.

But Decious was making him think it. How Sal's kind eyes were sometimes as green as emeralds and seemed to look right into him and know when he's hurt. How light his laugh was...

Q screams. Nox Decious was driving him insane. He was forcing his mind to believe in things that weren't true. He could have convinced Q anything.

"GET OUT OF ME!"

‘It's not like you can make me. I am much more powerful than you are. I can bend you to my will...’

Q fell to his hands and knees, exhausted. He was covered in sweat, and his hair was more disheveled than earlier. He felt himself becoming weaker.

Then he felt something unnatural... something terrifying. Q suddenly felt himself lifting his hand, but he wasn't in control of it. The hand was shaking and sweat covered. 

Q felt himself break into a grin. It was an evil grin. He heard small laughs come from his mouth. They weren't his, though. He wasn't in control of them, or the grin. He could feel himself mixing with Decious.

‘You're easy to control.’

"Get out of me..." Q says weakly, but with anger in his voice.

Then Q heard two words emit from his lips. They were Decious's, but they came from him.

"Make me."

Then Q started to lose consciousness, Decious making him weak. The last sound Q heard was laughter coming from himself.


	13. Murr and Joe Meet The Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Are you ready for today's depressing chapter? Only two chapters after this one. Hope you enjoy! (IMPORTANT: Read this next sentence if you want the series spoiled but if you don't want your emotions to explode. If it says one of the Jokers died I'm not actually going to keep them dead. I love them too much to do that!)

Murr was at his house, enjoying the fact that he had somehow not died from his head pain. The guys, especially Joe, seriously wanted to call the hospital when Murr almost died but he said not to. Now he wasn't experiencing any head pains. Maybe dark magic just hurts you and doesn't kill you, he thought.

‘You were lucky about that.’

Murr freezes. Something just spoke to him.

‘If not for your friends, you surely would have died.’

"What?"

Murr looks around. There was no one in his house. How could he hear this voice? It wasn't his thoughts.

‘I haven't introduced myself. I'm the voice inside your head.’

Murr was suspicious. He didn't trust the voice. It gave him a bad feeling.

‘I have figured out quite a lot about you, James Murray.’

"Who are you?"

He was starting to get freaked out.

‘I met one of your friends. I stayed in his mind for a while and tormented him with thoughts.’

Murr's breath started to get heavy. First he almost died by head suffering and now a psychopathic person was inside his mind? This dark magic wants me dead, he thinks.

"What do you mean?" Murr asks, frightened.

‘I tormented one of your friends, caused the other one various amounts of pain, and made you almost die.’

Murr then realized that Nox Decious was the one doing everything behind the guys' pain.

"Get out of my head."

‘Ha. That's what one of your friends said to me. He was very easy to... take care of.’

'Take care of?' Did one of Murr's best friends just die?

‘That Brian Quinn was easy to destroy.’

"NO!" Murr shouted. Did Q get killed?

‘I'm sure Joe Gatto won't be any harder.’

"Stop! No... You can't... you-you didn't..."

Murr was trying to process this and run it through his mind. The whole day leading up to now was being explained to him.

‘I'm sure you'll be easy enough.’

Murr screams. He was going to be killed! He wanted to run somewhere, anywhere. But he felt something holding him in place. It felt like the air was not letting him move. Decious was using his magic to stop him. 

Murr struggled to move, but he felt himself glued in place. He was pushed to his hands and knees. He then couldn't move again. 

"You won't control me, Decious," he says, breaking out of the grasp. 

He stands up.

‘You'll regret that.’

Murr then felt his fist start to come towards him. He used his other hand to hold it. It felt weird, him being in control of one arm but Decious controlling the other. 

Decious won the fight and punched Murr in the face. Then he got Murr in his stomach. Murr fell again.

‘You'll never be able to beat me.’

The punch wasn't bad, but Murr felt himself losing consciousness because of Decious slowly making him weaker. At least this time, his unconsciousness didn't have to come with head pain.

* * *

Joe gets home with no one there. His wife and daughter were probably out somewhere. He wasn't told about it. His wife was still concerned about him, especially since he looked like he was sick. After getting home, Joe sits down to work on paperwork.

‘You're alone... this couldn't be easier.’

Joe instinctively stands up. Did somebody just somehow speak to him? It wasn't from inside his head... was it?

"...Hello?" he asks with a hint of fear in his voice.

‘Hello. I believe your name is Joe Gatto.’

Joe freezes. This voice couldn't be his own thoughts. Who was it? How did it know his name?

‘I've met two of your friends already.’

"What?"

Two of his friends? Could the voice mean Q and Murr?

‘They were fun to... play with.’

'Play with...?' Could his friends be dead?

That's when Joe realized, since Nox Decious put the dark magic in him, Q, and Murr, that the voice was most likely the terrifying hood clad man.

‘You'll be fun to play with too.’

Yeah, this guy definitely means murder, Joe thinks. He looks around for the closest thing that could harm Decious. He finds a knife from the kitchen, (one that his daughter couldn't get to, of course,) and starts looking for Decious.

"Where are you Decious?" Joe says, having the knife in a ready position.

‘I don't even have to leave your head to destroy you.’

Joe suddenly isn't in control of his arm. The arm, with the knife in hand, starts to descend to stab him. He backs up, but he can't escape his own arm. Soon he's up against a wall, the knife right up to his neck. 

Joe can't back up anymore. He tries to stop the arm from moving the knife closer to his neck. He yelps as the knife cuts across the skin of his neck. He could feel a cut was there. Then he suddenly starts to lose consciousness. He tries to stay awake, but Decious makes it impossible.

He drops the knife and it falls to the floor. Then he collapses onto the floor, along with it. He feels like he's being forced into a deep sleep. He finally closes his eyes...


	14. The Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everyone. This chapter's going to be a hard one to handle, emotionally. I mean, it was for me... but I'm weird. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Q wakes up feeling groggy. He groans and doesn't stand up. He lets his vision adjust and unblur. He then realizes where he is.

He blinks a few times; he feels like he just woke up from a nightmare. His first thought is, I'm not dead. How am I not dead? He looks around. He's in a big, dark room with nothing in it. He tries to move but feels chains on his wrists. It hurt because of the scars from cutting at wrists the night before. 

He tried to pull against the chains, but it hurt too much. Then he saw Murr and Joe. 

"Guys!" he says, trying to run towards them, to see if they're okay. But they were still unconscious. 

The two of them were both red in the face, but Joe had a visible cut across his neck, and Q could see it even though he was the farthest from him. Both men looked liked ragdolls, their heads drooped down and their bodies being held up by the chains. Q wanted to throw up at the sight of it, even though he probably looked like that when he was unconscious. He just hoped his friends weren't dead...

It was completely silent, except for the sound of Q's heavy breathing, until he heard the sound of one of the men waking up. Q saw Murr open his eyes, and like him, he saw him look around.

"Murr, are you okay?" Q asks him.

"Yeah, Q, I'm fine. Where are we?" Murr says.

"I don't know," Q responds, "I just know that Decious brought us here."

Q realized that he would probably get to see Decious. He was angered by the thought of the voice that was driving him insane and had controlled him.

"Well, hello," Q and Murr hear, the voice echoing throughout the whole room. Q recognized the voice; the one that had been in his head for the entire day.

The two see Nox Decious appear at the far end of the room. He looked like a demon, the way he just appeared. And all of his clothing was a ghostly black. The man, or whatever he was, started to walk towards Q and Murr.

The two couldn't run. They were trapped by the chains.

"It's pleasant to finally meet you and be able to speak to you not being in your head," says Decious.

Q is already scowling. He hated Decious with all of his being.

"I sense negativity within you," Decious says to him.

"Well you kind of kidnapped and chained me," Q says with angrily.

"I'm not saying that's bad. I feed off of others' hate and anger."

Then Decious walks right up to Q. He extends his hand, almost right up to Q's face, and Q can see him focusing. 

Then Q started to feel like his life was being sucked out of him. He felt his happiness leave, and he felt himself about to burst. His eyes almost rolled to the top of his head when he felt the pain stop. Decious stopped tormenting Q and he fell, trying to regain his breathing.

"Q!" Murr yelled, having watched one of his best friends being tortured.

Decious laughed and says to Q, "You weak mortal. That's only the start of what I do to those who defy me. You will suffer."

"Do what you want to me. But you better not hurt any of my friends," Q says with confidence.

"No! Q he's going to murder you!" Murr yells to his friend.

Decious looks at Murr and he almost jumps.

"D-Don't even think about hurting my friend," Murr says to the man, even though he was scared.

Decious then walks up to Murr.

"No, Murr. Don't do this!" Q yells. Murr wouldn't listen. He would die for his friend.

Decious says to Murr, extending his arm, "You know, I decided to make the dark magic give you head pain because I knew it would destroy you. It would destroy anyone, but I wanted you to suffer. The pain hasn't seemed to destroy you yet... I'll end your suffering."

"Murr! NO!!!" Q cries.

Murr was already extremely frightened. Now he was even more, knowing that he was going to die. Murr felt the pain begin, Decious's hand almost touching his face. Then the pain quickly got worse. It was the most horrible thing he had ever felt. He soon heard himself screaming and sobbing in ten seconds, the pain getting to a peaking point.

Q tried the most he ever tried at anything in his life to get out of the chains. He pulled and pulled, even though his wrists bled uncontrollably. He had to save his friend...

Murr felt everything slowly fading. Shedding tear after tear, he asked Decious, "Why do you do this? Why do you bring pain to others for no reason?"

"Because I will get the 'ultimate power' from that stupid girl!" Decious yells, enraged, "And I don't care how many people I have to destroy to get it! I even just brought you here to lure her and try to destroy her... again! And I won't stop trying until I get it!" 

Q has burst into tears by now. He watched Murr cripple and droop. His head was soon down and he was motionless. The chains broke from his wrists and he fell to the ground, limp. Q saw his friend stop breathing.

Q's breath came out in short ragged cries, his head was down because he didn't want Decious to see him crying, and kept whispering denials to himself, praying that his friend wasn't dead.

Decious by now is enjoying what just happened. He takes pleasure in seeing others suffer. He is also enraged, though. He gets infuriated by the thought of his nemesis and how she never dies for good. How she survives torture after torture.

Decious slowly walks up to Q. He hovers over him. 

"Are you prepared to join your friend?" Decious says darkly.

Q's shaking his head, not prepared for anything else because of the horrible, awful day.

Q feels himself rise. He doesn't do it willingly. Decious makes him. He then feels a punch to the stomach; a hard one. He keels over and starts to cough, slowly losing consciousness. He should see a doctor about how much Decious is knocking him out. He was sure the demon had broken him.


	15. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's finally the last chapter of Book 2 and the "Not a Normal Day" story. (It literally took me a month to publish!) The next story will probably be called "Three Days, Three Absences," but I'm not sure yet. I don't know how soon I'll be able to publish it, so prepare to do some waiting. Anyway, thank you everyone for reading this story and for reading all 15 chapters, if you did. But thank you for at least reading some of it. I tried writing it as best as I could and I will for the next story too. But for now enjoy this long last chapter!

When I got home from filming at the mall, I immediately feel worried about my friends. I wondered what they were doing... alone. I then picked up the phone and called Q. No response. No worries, he could be busy. I call Murr next. No response. Just a coincidence. I call Joe. Nothing. I was about to call the police to investigate. I then decided to wait a little to see if they'd call back.

They didn't call, though. The call I did get was one that put me in alert mode. It was Joe's wife asking if we had finished filming yet. I told her we did and lied that we were eating somewhere. She said that she tried calling Joe himself, Murr, and Q, but none of them answered.

Now I was scared. What if something had happened to them? What if they were in trouble? I was about to call the police, but decided I needed help from someone else. I called Abigail.

She gave the four of us her number yesterday, so I called it and she said she'd come to my house. In five minutes, I heard my doorbell ring and she was at the door.

Even though I was anxious, I asked Abigail with a smile, "I thought you were supposed to live in Chicago."

"Yeah, I can teleport here pretty quickly," she says, giving me her signature tiny grin.

I hold my door open for her to enter and she looks around a little, but not a lot.

"So what did you call for? Magic stuff?" she asks.

"Maybe it involves magic. I don't know...

"The guys weren't doing well when I was with them today, and they had a rough time last night, so I was afraid of leaving them alone now. I called them and no one answered. Joe's wife also called them."

Abigail says, "I want to say that this is just a coincidence, but my magic is thinking otherwise... I bet Decious is involved."

I shuddered at the mention of Decious. He has haunted my thoughts since I met him yesterday.

"Do you know where they're at?" I ask, hoping that she knows.

She closes her eyes for a minute. She says, "I think I know where they are. I'll go look for them."

She's about to leave when I say, "Wait. Let me come with you."

She shakes her head and says, "Sal, you don't want to come with. You already met Decious once and that's probably one time too many. It's not safe."

"Please let me go. I want to help save my friends." I was actually serious. I wanted to see if my friends were okay.

After a few seconds, she says, "Fine. Just be careful."

I start to wonder how we'd get to the guys, but Abigail says, "Take my hand."

I look at her suspiciously and she asks, "Do you trust me?"

I grab her hand and she shuts her eyes. I feel myself start to leave the ground. The view of my house starts to leave and it is replaced with a dark room. 

Woah. I just teleported. 

I see Nox Decious. He's looking at us, well mostly Abigail, with anger. I hide behind her, still scared of the terrifying man. I try to see my friends. 

"How did you get here?" Decious asks angrily.

"I can sense your large amounts of dark magic," she replies, not even fazed by his anger.

I knew they were going to fight. I was still hiding behind Abigail, and she looks at me. 

"Go get him," I say quietly, loud enough for only her to hear me. He was going to pay for the pain he caused my friends.

While Abigail and Decious were fighting, I try sneaking my way over to Joe, Murr, and Q. I don't get far. I find myself being face to face with Decious. I look past him to see Abigail. She has what is obviously a knife stab in her neck.

Decious started to corner me. I was freaking out. I had no one to protect me while he could so easily kill me.

"Why are you the one that always makes it out," Decious says to me, his knife still in hand. I had nowhere to run. He was about to stab me when...  


"Nice try, Decious."

Abigail suddenly appears in front of me. She grabs Decious's knife and slices his hand off. He backs up and cries out in agony. I look in amazement at Abigail. I can hear her breathing heavily.

She walks up to Decious, holding the knife forward.

"Augh! I have to wait for like, a whole night for this to grow back," Decious says, looking at his arm; where his hand should be.

"I guess now we're both scathed," Abigail says. The spot on her neck where he stabbed her was still bleeding.

Decious growled. "You will pay." Then he disappears.

Abigail lets out a sigh of relief while I rush to my friends. I don't like what I see. 

Joe has a huge cut along his neck, while Q still looked disheveled. It was Murr that concerned me. The three of them had chains except for him. He looked the most lifeless out of the three of them. I walk up to Murr and listen for a heartbeat.

None.

I yell and stumble backwards. There's no breathing. He's not breathing. I listen to Q and Joe's heartbeats. They are breathing. Murr's not breathing. I'm about to yell out to Abigail to come look but I hear the sound of one of my friends waking up.

Q leans forward and lets out a groan.

I run over to him, saying, "Oh my gosh, Q. Oh my gosh. Are you alright?"

Abigail's next to him and she cuts the chains off his wrists. She tries to help him up, but his body refuses to move. He's as limp as a doll, but still conscious.

Abigail gives up on trying to lift him and lowers him to the ground.

"Q, are you okay?" she says to him.

He suddenly throws his arms around her in a hug. She's surprised, but doesn't try to pull away.

"Q, what happened?" she asks gently.

At this she starts to feel him shake and she realizes he is crying. 

"Q... Q, it's alright," she says softly, quietly shushing him like a mother would do to a child.

They end the hug, but he rests silently in her arms, not wanting to leave the comfort of his crush. She starts to gently caress his hair, not knowing if she should. But Q doesn't stop her.

I start to get confused. My first thought is: have they been dating without telling me? 

Then I start to wonder what happened to Q, and what had happened to Murr and Joe. I wonder off-handedly how much pain Abigail feels on regular basis and if she was enjoying Q's presence in her arms.

Abigail is finally able to help Q up, and she and I wait for him to tell us what had happened.

"I-I don't really know. Decious started to-torturing me and I-I-I think Murr's dead and then I-I was knocked out and then you showed up," Q explains, stuttering out of fear of remembering the event.

"DEAD," I repeat, "You think he's DEAD?"

He kind of gives me these big fearful puppy dog eyes to tell me I'm right. The three of us walk over to Murr. Abigail kneels beside him, and Q and I just watch. Q still has tears streaming down his face and my breath is caught in my throat. 

Abigail checks Murr's forehead and for a heartbeat. Then she asks Q, "You saw him die?"

"Yeah, I saw Decious do like that thing from Star Wars. I mean not like the choking thing, but the looking into his mind and causing him pain... thing. Okay, I don't get what he did, but he did something."

Abigail looks at Murr for a moment longer, then announces, "He's not dead." 

I let out a sigh of relief. Q literally passes out. I think he should see a doctor.

She explains, "I think Decious just uses his powers to make it look like he kills people. He does it to toy with your emotions. Murr still has some life left in him. I can heal him."

Abigail wouldn't tell me, but only the last part of what she said was true. Murr did die. But she had the ability to bring people back from the dead. She wouldn't tell us four that because she thought it would scare us too much. 

I watched in anticipation as she... I don't know... does a healing spell? Then, I see Murr's eyes miraculously open. How did that even happen? This is all too crazy for me to comprehend.

Murr gets sort of a strange feeling, like his heart was just pumped back to life in an emergency room, but then felt normal. He remembered what had happened. He looks around at Q and me; then Abigail. 

"Did you...?" Murr trails off, looking at her. She gives him a tiny smile. Then he throws his arms around her. Of course Abigail's surprised because she just got to two hugs in one day, but I was also surprised. Do Q and Murr both like Abigail?

Murr whispers to Abigail, burying his head into her shoulder, "Thank you for saving me."

"No problem," she says, "It's kind of my job to save people."

Abigail didn't know that Q and Murr both liked her. She didn't even know that either of them liked her for that matter. She doesn't have a lot of experience with crushes or dating and stuff like that. She was just glad that she was friends with the Impractical Jokers.

Abigail and Murr end their hug and I say to Abigail, "I think Q needs a doctor. He's unconscious."

I was trying to hold Q up. He passed out when discovering Murr hadn't died. Q had said to himself that he thought Decious had broken him.

I thought we were all done with the moments and sadness until...  


"Joe!" I forgot about Joe! How could I even do that? I feel like a horrible friend right now. 

Murr, Abigail, and I rush over to him. He's still chained and unconscious. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. 

Abigail uses magic to cut the chains off and Murr and I catch him before he falls. He then starts to wake up. It was like the chains blocked his consciousness.

"We're sorry for forgetting about you, buddy," I say to Joe.

He opens his eyes and feels the cut on his neck.

He says, raising an eyebrow, "... I feel weird... Where's Q?”

"About that first part," Abigail says, "I was able to stop yours, Q's, and Murr's dark magic. It's probably why you feel different." Abigail didn't say it, but their dark magic had only been contained. She would get rid of it over the next few days.

"Yeah, because I was going to say I don't feel all depressed," says Joe. "Where's Q at?"

"Q's over there," I say, "He's going to see a doctor."

So then finally, after this long painful day for my friends and me, it was finally over. The dark magic ended and we were finally able to actually sleep peacefully. Q went and saw a doctor, Murr was just happy he was still alive, and Joe had to explain to his wife the cut across his neck. You could see why I for once was glad to be the one that 'made it out.' 

What adventure tomorrow held, we didn't know yet. We would find that out then...


End file.
